“Which brings up the side note that we need to hire movers for the boat. I think we can just load everything in the boat and have it all moved at once.”
Surprisingly, we chose the house with the black roof in the squishy neighborhood right on the canal. The house was amazing, spacious, entirely updated in a style we both really liked, and 100% move-in ready. The house on the lake was spacious and on the lake we love, but that’s all it had going for it.
I’m excited for the black-roofed house to be our first. I’m not being unrealistic and thinking it’ll be our forever home. Thereality that neither of us has talked about is the chance of one of us being traded. Or both, but likely to different teams.
The most I’m hoping for is for us to be on teams that are close together like Caulder and Lo. A couple hours we can make work. A thousand miles? The idea of being so far away from Etna makes me tense. How would we ever make that work?
To be fair, even if we weren’t getting married, even if we were stilljust friendslike we’d been a couple months ago, the thought of being traded away from Etna always left a sick feeling in my gut.
It’s reality. I know that. It’s the way hockey works. I never thought there’d be something about hockey I resented, but a future where we have to struggle and fight for every minute together is definitely something I hate.
In fact, I think I’d hate it enough that I’d retire. I can be the house husband and support my hockey man. The thought makes me smile, but that smile is short-lived. There would still be a bunch of nights he’d be away, and I’d be sleeping without him. The great thing about being on the team together is that we canalways be together.Work, play, travel. All of it.
Any other configuration and we lose a lot of that.
“Did we have plans with Julian?” Etna asks.
I blink out of my thoughts and focus in on my surroundings, which is us pulling into our driveway with Julian’s car already parked there.
Frowning, I check my phone. “No. This very clearly states ‘Sell Etna’s house today!’ and ‘Taste some cakes but don’t gain weight.’”
We both laugh. Hockey things are listed just as they are. I think we were feeling a little feisty when we scheduled our wedding and sex-capades to-dos. Or maybe we were just nervous and therefore put them in with the hope we’d laughand maybe release some of the nerves. I didn’t put that much thought into it, but I probably did it subconsciously.
Julian’s sitting on the stoop in the shade.
“We also didn’t miss a call,” I note. “Did you get a text?”
Etna checks his phone once we’re in park. “Nope.”
We get out and Julian smiles.
“What’s up?” I ask. “You okay?”
He nods as he gets to his feet. “Yep, fine. Just bored and needed to get out of the house. I was dialing to call you when you pulled down the road.”
“Ah. We’re heading to cake tasting in a bit.”
“No worries. I can head out.”
Etna and I exchange a look. “You want to taste some cake with us?”
“Nah. I don’t want to impose on your wedding stuff.”
“We’re literally consuming calories today,” Etna says. “It’s not an imposition.”
“Seriously, I can’t think of a single wedding thing you could impose on,” I add. “We’re winging it with the best of them.”
Julian still hesitates, but after a minute, he nods. “Thanks. I’m tired of sitting around at home playing games. Hilt has family shit and Horny went home for a few days and you’re doing couple-y things and I’m just bored.” He laughs.
“Didn’t want to hang with Hilt and the family shit, huh?”
“Kids are cool and all, but I don’t feel joy being around them.”
I grin. “We’re just changing since we headed to the real estate office just after the gym. Then we’re heading out for cakes. Plural.”
“Sounds good.”
It doesn’t take us long to change. We don’t even fool around or teasingly grope since we know Julian’s here. Less than ten minutes later, we’re back in the car. This time, with Julian in the back seat.
